If you have ever been to Florida, hopefully it was on the nice breezy Gulf Coast or on the Atlantic Ocean! We had an experience in the Everglades National Park that…well, let’s just say we really should have brought more bug spray!
The Everglades is really a great opportunity to see Florida for what it really is, that is authentic Florida swamp! Seeing the Everglades is a great chance to educate ourselves on some of the dangers we are facing as urbanization grows and natural habitat diminishes. But, it also gives us a great chance to see real swamp wildlife, like alligators!
And yes, they are real so just make sure you don’t have a swim in an alligator pond.
There is other wildlife around too. Birds, frogs, turtles and larger mammal like manatees. In fact, manatees are a protected endangered specie from the state of Florida. Many boaters neglect to acknowledge there are other beings living on the planet besides us and they tear through manatee area with their boat propellers sometimes injuring the manatees. Just make sure that you always treat others how you want to be treated, even if they are another species. 🙂
We found this guy along the road.
Now to the real Everglades, however. If you want to go watch out for the mosquitos. This is my highlight only because we were literally bombarded. So bombarded by mosquitos, in fact, that the park ranger did not charge us for camping stating that there had been a “mosquito infestation” during that time. Wow. We stayed two nights thinking it would get better. We had fires going and in the middle of November (which is still warm in southern Florida) we had sweatshirts and jeans to avoid the bites. Oh, and they seem to have developed immunity to every kind of natural or chemical spray known to man. So anytime after dark, make sure you are already snug in your tent (or a hotel) to avoid any swarms. 🙂